


He's a Doctor After All

by nostalgicadolescance



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Bromance, Concerned Kirk, Fluff, Hurt Bones, Hurt McCoy, Hurt/Comfort, No Slash, Protective Kirk, Sick Bones, kirk x mccoy, mckirk - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-08-08 22:22:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7775950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nostalgicadolescance/pseuds/nostalgicadolescance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The enterprise is going on a mission and Bones has not yet reported for duty. Jim is worried and finds a sick (and stubborn) Bones in his room, who won't admit just how bad he really feels.</p><p> Later in the story, Jim uses a hypospray on Bones.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Has anyone seen Doctor Mccoy?” The captain asked, peering around the bridge.  
The crew shook their heads, looking around for a moment, and then returned to chatting and performing their duties. 

The Enterprise was getting ready to explore a nearby planet to examine the alien species. It was in the middle of their five-year mission and the crew had grown accustomed to these sorts of things; discovering a planet, tracing it for signs of life, then contacting the nearest communication base to see if they would be welcomed for entry. They had received permission to fly into the planet Xena today, and like all their other recent missions, Jim figured that it would be a fairly easy and enjoyable task. However, there was still always a possibility of danger, which is why McCoy was assigned to accompany Jim and the others for duty. 

Jim was staring at the clock. Punctuality rarely mattered to him, since their missions usually did not have set times anyway. But Jim was concerned because Bones was never late. To anything.

He waited another minute, sure that his friend would walk in any moment.  
“Captain, perhaps if you contacted Doctor Mccoy-”  
“I’m on it Spock.” Jim replied, attempting to give his first officer and friend a patient smile.  
The Vulcan nodded and walked away, leaving Jim alone with the communicator.

Jim buzzed Mccoy on the communicator but there was no answer.  
Maybe there was some kind of situation going on in medbay and Bones was there, Kirk thought. However, when he called the nurses he was surprised to hear that Mccoy was not there.

A weird feeling sunk in Kirk’s stomach. Either Bones had slept in, which was very unusual for him, or something was wrong. He quickly hoped it was not the latter. 

"Dammit bones.” Kirk thought to himself.

He walked over to Mccoy’s room and knocked. There was no answer so Kirk dialed in the passcode and opened the door. He had memorized it long ago.

“Bones?”

The room was empty, and the bed messy with ruffled blankets dangling off the sides. The communicator was sitting on the top of the desk, untouched.  
Kirk then walked near the bathroom where he could hear the water running and knocked on the door.

“Hey Bones, you in there?”  
No response

He made a stern voice. “Bones, you’re late.”

Then he heard coughing.  
He knocked again, concerned. “Hey man open up.”  


The man in the other room let out a couple more coughs then opened the door.

Jim immediately raised his brows at the sight of the man. His face was pale with sweat and there were rings under his eyes. He had never seen the doctor look so bad before. Even when he got really drunk, Bones still managed to keep himself together. His uniform was on, Jim taking note that Bones probably did wake up on time.

The doctor lowered his head, with an expression of guilt and embarrassment- two emotions Jim had rarely seen from his friend.  


“I’m sorry, Jim, I-“

Jim didn’t need an explanation.

“Bones you look like shit.”

The doctor looked at him with drowsy eyes.

“I’ve had worse days in the barn. I’m ready to go. “

Bones started to make his way toward the door. 

“Woah, no you don’t,” Jim scoffed putting his arm in front of him. “You don’t look too well, Bones, and I just heard you cough up a storm. I don’t think you should come on this mission. ”

Bones waved him off, clearly irritated. “It’s a simple cold, Jim, and I’m a doctor. Nothing I can’t handle.“

Suddenly he was overcome by coughing.  
The damn irony, Bones thought to himself.

But he could barely think with all of this coughing. Every time he let one out, it stung his throat, causing his lungs to take harsh breaths in between. When he had finally finished, it felt like the wind had knocked out of him.

Jim was staring at the doctor with his arms crossed, both worried and pissed at how stubborn his friend was.

That blue eyed bastard, Bones thought to himself, still huffing in short breaths. He knew from that look that the captain would not let him out of this one.

Jim kept his arms folded but spoke softly. “Bones, I’m not letting you go on this mission.”

The doctor rolled his eyes. “Dammit man, this is stupid. I’m fine.” 

Kirk laughed out of annoyance. “Yeah, if you think that coughing up a storm is fine. But you’re the doctor after all.” 

Bones was admittedly too weak to argue with his friend, and too embarrassed to admit that he was probably right. So he simply waved him aside and headed towards the door. 

This quickly became a bad idea as his body turned numb and the room began to spin around him.  
Suddenly, the world turned black and his knees buckled, causing him to sway sideways. 

“Woah” Jim said, quickly reaching out a pair of arms to catch him before he fell. “Easy Bones. Hey. Can you hear me?" Jim immediately felt a wave of worry rush over him as he placed his hands on the man's shoulders and tried to shake him lightly. He was about to call in medical when Bones began to gain conciousness. 

Mccoy on the other hand tried to stand up straight and act like he didn’t just pass out, but every bone in his body was pulling him down like gravity. Once the room finally stopped spinning, Bones looked up and saw the stern, concerned look in his friend’s eyes, and immediately felt humiliated. 

“That’s it” Kirk said, slowly helping Bones up to his feet, “I’m checking you into medbay. The junior medical officer can take your place.”

“Jim that’s absurd,” Bones retorted, now standing on his own, ”He barely knows a thing about the crew and he’s still a kid. What if something goes wrong, if people get hurt, I-“

“Nothing’s gonna happen Bones. Plus you appointed him so I trust in your judgment.”  


That was true, but he still didn’t like it. Bones leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, trying to look like he had it together but really because he needed to stand against something or else he was going to fall.

“Mccoy its an order.” 

Mccoy, when did Jim ever use that name? Bones was taken aback at the title. It was his captain voice.  
The doctor sighed. He wanted no other man to be the captain but sometimes hated how his best friend could give him orders.  
Yet he gave in, knowing that dizziness automatically rendered him unfit for duty, according to Starfleet regulations. He was also aching all over his body, and breathing heavily, and he started to wonder if he had misdiagnosed himself. 

“Alright Jim."

****


	2. Chapter 2

They headed toward sickbay. Bones tried to walk in a straight line as much as possible although the room kept spinning. Kirk seemed to notice, keeping him steady with a hand on his back. Mccoy was glad that the main crew was already on the bridge, so that no one could see him like this. He imagined the crew whispering to themselves and then Spock raising a brow in subtle amusement, being the only expression that the pointy-eared Vulcan seemed to have. 

“Mr. Blackburn, you’re now assigned on the Xena mission. Doctor Mccoy is under the weather and is being treated here today.”

The young man smiled wide, but trying to contain his excitement, spoke in a serious tone. “Of course, Captain.”

Kirk nodded and handed him the mission report. “Be ready to dispatch in 5 minutes.”

“Yes Captain, thank you sir.” The man scurried off still grinning.

Bones rolled his eyes, “See how happy he was. God, that man is like a-“ 

“Shut up Bones.” Kirk said cutting him off.

The nurses began to examine Mccoy, flooding him with medical scanners.  
Bones was stubborn and tried to wave them off, saying that he could do it himself. 

Until he started to puke.

Jim quickly grabbed him a trash bag and spoke encouraging words to the doctor, trying not to think about how horrible his friend looked at the moment.

After a minute of puking through every meal he had the day before, Mccoy wiped the sweat off of his face and groaned. “I feel like my innards just took a trip to Jupiter.” 

Jim chuckled. Bones said the weirdest things sometimes.

Then he looked at the medical scanner, which was flashing a yellow light. The symptoms read: Vomiting, dizziness, 104 fever, cough, severe stomach cramps, and sharp chest pain. 

Jim shook his head angrily, “And as a doctor you really thought that you could manage this?”

Bones shrugged in genuine confusion. "Hell I thought it was just a simple cold this morning. I didn't experience any of these symptoms until you walked in, Jim. I don't know how these symptoms could of hit me all so quickly at once.”

Suddenly Bones felt an oncoming pain and gripped his stomach, hissing under his breath. 

Jim immediately softened his gaze and hovered over Bones, calling for a nurse. 

"I'm ok," Bones said weakly, taking short breaths. 

One of the nurses came quickly over to Mccoy and scanned him once more. She then narrowed her eyes at the report.  
“This seems to be more than a flu. He has some strand of alien virus. B58 is what the scanner detected.” 

Jim had no idea what that was but knew that any sickness associated with the word alien didn’t sound good. Especially for Bones, since he always complained about space being filled with disease and danger. 

“I am not familiar with the virus. What exactly is his condition?” 

“It is uncommon for humans and alien species to share illnesses because of our different immune systems. However, in some cases, certain viruses are possible to catch- and for these, the symptoms can do a lot more damage to the human host. According to the scanner’s reading, Doctor McCoy shares the same symptoms as human pneumonia, except that his symptoms are more extreme and hit all at once. Fortunately, this virus lasts only 1-2 days but usually patients are hospitalized during that time because it takes a huge toll on the body.”

Kirk turned to Bones who was now hunched over, pressing his head against his hand and squinting his eyes. Mccoy was trying to stay subtle but the captain knew that he was holding back much more pain than he was letting. 

Kirk bit his lip. “Is he going to be alright?”

The nurse nodded. “Due to the Enterprise’s advanced medicine and capabilities, it is harmless. Just think of it as an extreme non-deadly flu.”

“Lovely” Mccoy croaked. 

The nurse gave Bones a tender smile and injected him with a hypospray.  
“This will help with the pain.”

Bones twitched a little then mumbled her a thank you.

Kirk made a playful grin, “It hurts doesn’t it?”

Bones rolled his eyes, “At least I’m not the idiot getting jabbed with these things on a daily basis”

Kirk smirked, thinking of all the times he had checked into medbay since boarding the Enterprise. He was a magnet for destruction, according to his friend.

He then helped Bones lie down on the biobed, surprised that the doctor had easily let him.

After asking the nurse to keep him updated, Jim turned back to his friend and gave him a pat on the shoulder, gazing at him with his soft blue eyes. 

“Take it easy, Bones. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”

Bones smiled. “Same goes for you, Captain.” 

Kirk reported back to the headquarters where his crew was waiting. The mission was now behind by 15 minutes. 

***


	3. Chapter 3

The mission went fairly well. Jim, Spock, Uhura, Scotty, and Doctor Blackburn were beamed down to the planet’s headquarters to meet with the ambassador of the Xena alien race. The ambassador’s daughter, Auluah, educated the crew on the planet’s customs and prepared for them a feast before their departure.

Jim could never pass up the opportunity for free food, but the most enjoyable part of the mission was when Auluah informed the medical officer that she had a thing for doctors. 

Jim and Scotty couldn’t help but laugh, amused over the fact that Bones had missed the perfect opportunity to be hit on by a hot alien woman. 

When the captain saw the junior medical officer and Auluah kiss, he felt happy for the kid. Jim remembered when he was 22 years old and crushing over exotic alien woman. But that had long changed since taking on the role of captain. After a couple years of sitting in the captain’s chair, Kirk’s mind was set on greater things, like performing his job admirably and possibly settling down in the future. Jim didn’t really share those things to anyone, but after getting along with Mr. Blackburn today, Jim knew that he wanted to talk to the kid more often. 

***

After returning from the mission, Kirk headed over to medbay. 

“Captain, after running various tests and treatments, Doctor McCoy has insisted on staying in his room. We tried to contain him but he ordered us to release him, so we let him, seeing that his symptoms had slightly subsided. “ 

Kirk nodded, knowing Bones was one stubborn bastard, and thanked the nurses for their assistance.

He walked back to Bones’ room and opened the door. It was unlocked.  
Mccoy was laying in his bed, his hair messy with sweat and his face noticeably pale.

“Hey sunshine how are ya?”

“Fine and dandy, Captain”

Sarcasm, it never left Bones, even when he was miserably sick.

Jim walked over and took a seat by the bed. The doctor didn’t look any better than he did this morning. 

“How was the mission?” Bones asked hoarsely. 

“Oh it went great. Your junior officer did a fine job, I’m thinking about promoting him to seniority and switching him to your position.”

Bones chuckled and then winced, placing his hand over his stomach.

Jim examined his friend. “It must have been one hell of a virus, cause you still look like shit.”

Mccoy nodded. “As a doctor who’s seen it all, I thought I knew what shit felt like, but now I truly know.” 

“Ok well, I think you should check yourself back in to medbay. Or at least have someone assigned here.”

“I’ve got it covered, I have nurse Jane on call.”  
Jim grinned. “The cute one”  
Bones smiled back. “Yes, the cute one.”

Jim leaned back in his seat, thinking about the events from earlier today, and smiled. 

“You know, you could have been hit on by a hot alien woman.”

Bones raised his eyebrow in amusement. Then he smirked, shaking his head.  
“You know Jim, I don’t know if I’d want to kiss any hot alien woman after having this virus.”

Jim grinned wide. “Blackburn kissed her.”

Bones’ eyes widened. “No way”

“Yeah she said she had a thing for doctors.”

“That son of a bitch.” Hearing Jim laugh at his response made him smile. “Well I guess it’s good for the kid. He never gets to go off and explore anyway unless I’m down under.”

The Captain and doctor chatted for a while longer, making jokes and chuckling with each other. This was the first time in a while that they had talked this long to each other in one sitting. It was enjoyable for Mccoy, but each time he talked, he felt an increasing pang in his lungs. 

After a while he couldn’t hold back the pain any longer, since now the words were jabbing at his chest. 

The doctor paused mid-conversation and groaned. 

Jim quickly got up from his seat and hovered over Bones. “Should I call someone in?”

He gritted through his teeth. “I just need… to… knock myself out.”

“Is that going to help with anything? “ Jim asked, concerned at how weak he sounded.

“At this point, the only medicine that is strong enough to wear off the pain is sleep.”

JIm looked at his best friend wincing in pain and agreed that sleep was probably the best.

“Can you hand me the hypospray?” Bones asked, pointing in its direction.

Jim quickly got up and handed it to him. He watched patiently as Bones attempted to inject it himself, but his hands were shaky.

“Dammit,” Bones muttered.

“Do you need me to do it?” 

Mccoy just shrugged and sighed. “Sure.”

Jim was surprised at the fact that Bones was letting him help him. He must have been in too much pain to refrain from his usual wits. But he also grinned at the offer, thinking of all the times Bones had stabbed one of those damn things in his neck, telling him to “sit still” and “stop squirming like an idiot.” Granted, he got hurt way too often, but he never thought he’d see the day when he would return the favor to Bones. 

However, once he held the needle in his hands, his grin faded and he drew his attention to the sluggish doctor. 

“Just put it right here” Bones said weakly, placing his finger on the side of his neck. 

Jim was cautious and gently pressed the needle into the man’s skin.

Immediately, Bones’ body began to sink, as if all of the tension had eased out of him like a balloon.

Jim took a deep breath, relieved that he did it right and that Bones would be ok. 

“You know, I always pictured it being more fun jabbing you in the neck with one of these things.”

Bones smiled softly, his words turning sluggish. “It’s only amusing when it’s you... acting like a squeamish baby,” He said, as his eyelids began to drop. “But I don’t want… to keep…having to use these on you, kid… It scares me.”

Then his eyes fell shut and his head lolled forward, indicating that the drugs had taken their full effect. 

Jim watched as his friend fell fast asleep in front of him. It was a weird feeling seeing him that vulnerable because Bones was invincible to him. He was a doctor after all, and a damned good one at that. 

Jim gazed at him for a while, waiting until his breaths evened out, and then placed his hand on the man’s shoulder. “I’ll see ya in a little bit.”

Then he headed out to return to his duties, and planned to check up on Bones later again that night.

***

The end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading
> 
> I love McKirk and wanted to write a fic where Bones was the one hurt, since there isn't as much on that. 
> 
> (sorry that I made up a crew member, I just felt that it fits with the story.)
> 
> This was my first fanfic but I hope to write more in the future. :)


End file.
